Fall 2020 Reopening: Residence Life
Posted: July 23, 2020
Hello Trappers,
The fall semester reopening is right around the corner and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome everyone back to campus. You probably have a lot of questions about what it’s going to be like on campus this fall and what to expect for everything from your academics and activities to residence life and student services. Our goals are keeping you healthy, motivated and successful in your academic pursuits, now and in the future.
Today marks the first of a series of communications from the college with the important details about how our careful planning for college operations during the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to change your campus experience this fall. With everyone’s commitment to health and safety precautions, we can get through this together with the common goal of a more normal spring semester on the horizon (fingers crossed).
Today’s topic: Residence Life
As you can imagine, life in the residence halls is going to be different this year. Your health and safety is a top priority and we are implementing some measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our halls. Your adoption of the health and safety protocols we’re putting in place will be important from day one all the way through to finals. Remember, we’re in this together.
The Plan
- All students living in the traditional residence halls will get a single room this year (at no additional cost); restrooms and showers in those halls will be assigned to prevent potential cross-contamination.
- There will be regular, rigorous disinfection of common areas in buildings across campus, including residence halls.
- Face coverings will be required inside residence halls, unless you are in a room by yourself.
- Residents will be asked to maintain 6 feet of distance from each other whenever possible and to limit time spent in close contact (where distancing is difficult).
- Occupancy in laundry facilities will be limited to two people at a time.
- College-sanctioned social events will be hosted in a space which allows for proper distancing, face coverings required.
- After move-in weekend, only residents will be permitted inside the halls and apartments; all other visitors will require special permission from the Residence & Campus Life Director.
- Every effort will be made to support those who need to quarantine on campus (those who become exposed to COVID-19 but have not tested positive) and those who need to isolate on campus (those who test positive for COVID-19 and also choose to recover while in campus housing).
- All students who live in campus housing will receive access to a COVID-19 Mitigations, Policies, & Procedures document with specific details regarding Residence & Campus Life, once it’s been finalized.
NOTE: dining on campus will be covered in an upcoming communication.
What this means for you
- You will need face coverings. We will be providing students with two masks each, but as masks need regular cleaning to be effective, you’ll probably want a bunch. You may want to try a couple of different styles; comfort is going to matter.
- We’ll still have social events and activities in the halls, but they’re going to be limited this semester. Anything you can do remotely/virtually, the better connected you can still be.
- If we can prevent the spread of COVID-19 in campus housing this fall, we may be able to relax some of these restrictions in the spring. No guarantees, of course, as what we know about this pandemic is continually evolving, but it helps to have something to aim for. This means that your actions & behaviors can directly influence NWC’s future COVID-19 decisions.
Helpful resources
Who to contact with questions:
Lee Blackmore
Interim Residence & Campus Life Director
lee.blackmore@nwc.edu
307-899-9119
No doubt about it, this semester is going to be demanding on many levels. We’re going to ask a lot of you, even as you ask a lot of yourselves. Help us help you get through it safely and successfully so you don’t have to put your future career plans on hold.
I am looking forward to seeing you on campus this fall. Move in day will be here before you know it.
Stefani Hicswa, Ph.D.